Type-writing machine.



No. 653,282. Patented IuIy'Io, IIIIIIIu E. F. BUMPUS.

TYPE WRITING IIIAcIIINI-z.

(Application led June 3, 1898.) No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

q Il "o :IIII mu I I "MMI l, @III .I .IlIIlIlIIII No. 653,282, Patented `my lo, i900.

E. F. BuMPus. `TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

(Application med June 3, 1898.)

3 Sheets-Sheet V[No Model.)

.y Ill||l| No. 653,28; Patented my lo, moo.

E. F. BUMPUS.

TYPE WRITING MAACHINE.

(Application-Me. June 8, 1898.) @No Model.) 3 Sheets-Shut 3:,

PATENT unica EBENEZER BUMPUS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- IIALF TO WILLIAM H. BLISS, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TYPEQWRITING MACHINE. l`

SPECIFICATION arming pare of Letters recent No. 653,282, usted July 1o, 1900.

Application tiled .Tune 3. 1898. `Serial No. 682,420. (No model.)

To all whom. it may coiwcres- Be it known thatI, EBENEZER F. BUM'PUS,

` a citizen of the United Stat-es, residing at East Boston, in the 'county of Suffolk and State of `Massachusetts,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Type-Writing Machines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description,`reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in explaining its nature.

The objects of the invention are, first, to provide type-writing machines with an improved platen, and, second, with means whereby the hammer and noise incident to the operation of a machine may be largely avoided or decreased and the wear and tear of the machine thus lessened.

The first portion of the invention is applicable to most types of type-writing machines. The other part of the invention is represented as applied to a Franklin type-writer andis especially designed for use upon this class of machine, although not necessarily confined to it. I

It is desirable for many uses that a typewriting machine be essentially noiseless. This is especially the case in telegraph-offices having a number of operators and where messages are read by sound.

In the drawings, Figure l is aview in plan of a Franklin type-writer. Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section of said machine upon the dotted line 2 2 of Fig..1. Fig. 3 is a detail view representing a shift-frame end and shiftframe-end buffers. Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of abuffer inverted for thesliding carriage-receiving dog, to which reference will hereinafter be made. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the type-bar guide. Fig. 6 is a view in section upon the dotted line 6 6 of Fig. S. Fig. 7 is a view in section upon the dotted line 7 7 of Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a detail view, principally in plan, to represent the relation of the sliding `carriage-receiving dog, its stop, and the carriagerack to each other. Fig. 9 is a view in vertical section, enlarged, ot' one end of the platen. Fig. `l() is a view in end elevation Yof a portion of the machine to represent the release-'ban lever` extended and brought into operative relation to the spaceline lever, whereby it is adapted to be conjointly moved with the spacefline lever in returning the carriage. Figs. 1l and l2 are detail views further illustrating this use of the releasing-lever.

In the drawings, A represents the typebars, and oit-he types. The' type-bars areoperated in any desired way, and in the Franklin machine there isused over the platen B and near the striking-point upon the platen of the type a throat or guide a', which receives the end of the type-bar, guides it, and stays it while it is delivering the impression of its type. This produces some friction upon the end of the type-bar, and 'the typebar especially, upon the beginning of the upward stroke, was occasionally then retarded or cramped by it.

It is desirable that the machine shouldhave means for preventing this retardation or cramping of the bar. It is also desirable in the Franklin and other machines to cushion the stroke of thetype-bar at or very near the end of its downward movement and to also accelerate the'return movement of the type` bar atthe beginning of its upward litt or movement away from the platen. These results I have represented as accomplished by means of a resilient tube C, located beneath the type-bars and close to their pivot-points or fulcrnms a2. (See Figs. 1 and 2.) In the Franklin machine a very convenient place is provided for this resilient tube by the curved i wall da of the plate a4, in front of which wall,

between it and the fulcrums of the type-bars, there is a recess or space in the plate a4 of sufficient depth to receive and hold the tube, which may also be held in place by cement or in any other desired way. I prefer that the tube be made of rubber or other resilient material filled with air which may be slightly compressed, although it may be made of rubber tubing, it' desired. The tube provides a continuous resilient cushion extending under all the type-bars and adapted to yield at any place in its length upon the contact of the type-bar therewith as it approaches the end of its downward movement, and to thereby be slightly compressed by the type-bart()` also cushion the type-bar, so that its strikingim.- pression is lessened and the noise of the blow very much decreased, and also to assist by IOO ' but also applies sufficient force to the typebar to remove its end from cramping or restrained relation with the guides a', as above specified. The cushion also acts to relieve the platen, the type-bar, and the type from shock, so that their wearing properties are increased. Considerable noise and wear are also occasioned by the s hock incident upon the lateral movement of the carriage for changing its position in capitalizing, and I have overcome this by mounting upon the bracket D the cushion-stops d d', of leather, felt, or other suitable material. These cushion-stops are represented as attached to the bracket D by bolts or screws, the heads of whichl are within the cushions and the shanks of which are threaded and extend through the bracket to receive fastening-nuts d2 on the side of the bracket opposite the stops.l l

l the type-bar key the dog F is moved into con- This permits to some extent the adjustment of the stops and also their ready fastening in place and their ready removal for the substitution of new ones or for others of different thickness. There are four of these stops, two. at each rear corner of the machine.- The upper set d of these cushion-stops act to receive and cushion the blow of the carriageshifting levers t3 and. the carriage at the end of their backward movement. The lower set d perform the same oflice in connection with saidlevers d3 and the carriage at the end of the forward movement of the carriage and said levers. The stops or cushions are adjustable-outwardly and inwardly with respect to their holder or bracket D, and thus serve to fix and regulate the degree or extent of the lateral movement of the carriage in both direction's. They decrease the noise in the operation of the machine, as they do away with the metallic click caused by the contact of metal-lic parts, and they also decrease the Wear and increase the durability of the parts. There is also arranged upon the carriage-rod E (see Fig. 1) a non-metallic cushion-stop e, which is in the form of an annular ring or collar having a hole of the size of the rod and bein-g located upon the rod, with its face e' asgainst the inner face e2 of the rod-bracket e bracket serves to back it up and prevent its endwise movement on the rod, and the cushion-stop itself serves to prevent the noise or hammer of the carriage at the end of its rear movement, the part e4 of the carriage coming into contact with the cushion-stop and not into contact with the metal end of the bracket, as heretofore. This also increases the durability of the machine by decreasing the wear and shock consequent upon vibration by sharp contact of metallic surfaces.

There is one other prolific source of noise and wear and tear, and that is the carriagereceiving dog and the stop which holds it and the carriage at the end of each letter-spacing movement of the carriage. lThis part of my invention is illustrated as having the construction necessary for applying it to a Franklin machine; but I of course do not coniine l myself in its scope to its use upon such machines. The Franklin machine has for its releasing and spacing mechanism the two dogs F F', carried one above the other by a rocking frame f. These dogs engage the teeth of the carriage rack-bar f. The upper one acts to hold the carriage during the down-v I ward action of the type-bar, while the lower one acts to stop the carriage at the end of its spacing movement. The upper one is fixed,

: excepting that it is oscillated back and forth in relation to the teeth of the bar. The lower one not only has an oscillating movement, but has a longitudinal movement for spacing the dogs of the rack-bar in opposition to the stress of the returning-spring f?, which serves to return it when it is free from the rack-bar to its normal position. Upon the depression of tact with a tooth ofthe rack-bar, and the dog F' is moved from contact with the tooth of the rack-bar, permitting the spring f2 to return it to engaging position, and upon the release of the type-bar key the dog F is moved from contact with the rack-bar and dog` F ,moved into contact with the tooth thereof, fthereby permitting the carriagemoving lfspringgvwhich is much more powerful than the dog-springfz, to move the dog F longitudinally and until it comes into contact with Ia stop by which its further movement and that of the carriage arerestrained. lfore this stop has been metallic, and there has been a sharp shock and click caused by Heretothe contact of the dog with the stop, which not only has created a great deal of noise, but has also been the source of wear and tear and breakage of parts, asl the carriage-spring is relatively quite strong andthe carriage relatively quite heavy, thereby causing an impact between the dog and the stop of con- L siderable force and requiring that the parts be made very substantial to resist the destruetive eifect of the blow. In-stead of a metallic stop I usey a buffer G, with which the l end f3 of the sliding dog comes into contact at the end of its movement.

The rod holds the cushion-stop e, the

As the wear upon the buffer is large, I prefer, as a rule, to confine it in a cavity in order 4 that it may be backed up upon all sides, ex-

, the recess having a back g2, sides g3, and top igl, and a bottom is provided the recess by IOO IIS

the locking-plate g5, which forms a part of the rockingframef. The holder is U -shaped in form-#that is, it has two parallel arms gG Q12, connected at one end and open at the other, and the buffer is located near the end of one of these arms. The arms of the holder are separated by a space sufficient to permit it to straddle the plate' g5 of 4the oscillating frame f, thereby permitting the arm g, which Ais'provided with the screw-holes g7 g8, to be fastened to the u nder surface of said plate g5 by the screws Q9 gw, the arm g12 carrying the buffer not bein g directly fastened to the plate, and thereby having the resiliency or yielding provision arising from the shape, construction, and manner of securing the holder to the plate. This holder is adapted to be adjusted longitudinally the frame f in order that the buffer may be adjusted slightly as itwears and also for the purpose of obtaining true letter-spacin This isaccomplished by making the screw-holes g7 g8 slightly oblong crosswise the arm gs, so that the holder may be movable with respect to its fasteningscrews. A locking-screw g, having a taperinghead and arranged to screw into the frame f back of the arm g6 of the buffer-holder, may be used for assisting in the fastening of the holder to the frame in any position to which the holder may have been moved. It will thus be seen that the blow of the sliding dog at the end of the movement of the carriage is received not only by a non-metallic cushion, but also by a non-metallic cushion which is yieldingly held, and that this serves not only to prevent noise, but to also prevent breakage and wear and tear, and this is especially desirable because of the nature of the engaging parts and the high tension of carriage-spring necessary for quickly moving it, thev teeth of the dogs and the teeth of the rack-bar being small and relatively delicate and wearing quickly from their great use.

Another cause of wear of parts and noise is the return of the carriage by the spacinglever. This causes the teeth of the carriage rack-bar to ride on the loose dog, making a continuous chatter while the carriage is being returned, and it also Wears the teeth of the rack-bar and the teeth of the dog. To prevent this from occurring, I utilize the carriage-releasin g devices in returning the carriage in the following manner: The carriagereleasing devices for permitting a continuous onward movement of the carriage in the direction in which its actuating-spring draws or impels it comprises a long flat bar I-l, parallel with the carriage rack-bar f', which is adapted to be moved by the releasing-lever 7L against the loose dog F when it is desired to move the dog from contact with the teeth of the carriage rack-bar and to hold the dog from contact therewith. (See Figs. l1 and 12.) The bar-actuating lever h is not so shaped or arranged and is not used for actuating the said bar H during the return move- Vment of the carriage, and consequently` the loose dog F then drags upon the teeth of the` carriage raclebar. It is possible, however, to actuate this lever simultaneously with the actuation of the paper-feed lever H2, which is used in the manner common to type-writing machines not only to actuate the paper-feed,

-the carriage rack-bar and held out of engagement therewith during the return movement of the carriage, and the noise and click and the wear and tear heretofore common in typewriting machines are thus entirely avoided. `The relation which these two operating-levers H' and H2 bear to each other when thus, located ior conjoint use is represented in Fig. lO.

The platen B usually comprises acore or cylinder of wood and a thick envelop or bed of vulcanizable rubber and is objectionable, because the rubber gradually hardens until it becomes so hard as to lose its yielding prop-` erties and also to cause noise, as well as to injure the type and the writing. Myimprovement seeks to overcome these obj eotions to the ordinary platen by substituting for the thick rubber bed or envelop a bed or envelop of resilient material which does not change its character by age or use and which has applied to it avery thin finishing layer of rubber, the use or curing of which will not interfere with the resiliency of the bed as a whole. In the drawings, b is the Wooden cylinder or core of the platen, b' is the non-destructible resilient covering or bed, which I prefer to form of felt, although any other similar material will answer, and b2 is the thin finishing layer of rubber applied over the felt and acting to give the felt a suitable working surface, but not acting to impart resiliency to the platen, the resiliency being given by the thick-felt section. The very thin finishing layer of rubber above referred to serves to provide the platen with continuity, smoothness, and 1inish, acting as a skin thereto rather than by virtue of its peculiar characteristics as rubber.

For preventing vibration and noise there may be inserted between the end plates b3 of the platen and the end of the platen thin dampers or layers b4, of felt or other vibration or noise deadening material.

IThe advantages of the invention have largely been stated in connection with the description of its various parts and need not further be enlarged upon here.

Having thus fullytdescribed my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Stat-esm ICO IIO

'1. In a type-writing machine, a movable carriage carrying a rack in combination with anoscillating frame,` a holding-dog and a stopping-dog mounted upon said frame, said 2. The combination in a type-writing machine, of a movable carriage carrying a rack, an oscillating frame, holding and stopping dogs mounted thereon, a buffer-holder also located on said frame and comprising two arms substantially parallel with each other and connected together, said buffer-holder being provided with a recess in rear of said stopping-dog to receive a suitable buffer, as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination in a type-writing machine ot' an oscillating frame, a movable-carriage receiving and holding dog mounted thereon, a buffer-holder comprising two arms substantially parallel with each other and connected at one end, one of which arms has elongated holes Q7, g8 and the other of which arms is yielding and carries a dog-buffer, the said buffer, screws for fastening said holder to the oscillating frame and a lookin g device for locking the holder in any desired position on said frame.

4. In a type-writing machine, the improved platen herein described,the same comprising a cylinder or core B and a platen-bed enveloping said cylinderor core, eomprisingathick cushion of continuously-resilient pervious material like felt, and which forms the only cushion of the platen, and a very thin impervious surfacing or covering of rubber applied over the outer .surface of the cushionL and adapted to protect it and provide it with continuity, smoothness and finish but not to impart resiliency to the platen, as and for the purposes set forth.

5. Aplaten for type-writin g machines above described, consisting of a solid interior core or section surrounded by a resilient bed `of felt, whereby there is furnished a platen resilient to the action of type, said platen having'a thin finishing layer of rubber to protect it from disintegration, providing a smooth surface therefor, in combination with the end plates b3 and the interposed thin dampers b4 of non-metallic material, as and for the purposes set forth.

EBENEZER F. BUMPUS. 

